Texas Faith Blog

TEXAS FAITH: With more Americans not identifying with any faith, what’s the future of religion?

The number of Americans who do not identify with any religion is growing at a rapid pace. One-fifth of the U.S. public – and a third of adults under 30 –are religiously unaffiliated today, the highest percentages ever in polling by the Pew Research Center. In the last five years alone, the unaffiliated have increased from just over 15% to just under 20% of all U.S. adults. They include self-described atheists and agnostics but increasingly people who say they are spiritual but have no particular religious affiliation. This large and growing group of Americans is less religious than the public at large on many conventional measures, including frequency of attendance at religious services and the degree of importance they attach to religion in their lives.

With few exceptions, they say they are not looking for a religion that would be right for them. Overwhelmingly, they think that religious organizations are too concerned with money and power, too focused on rules and too involved in politics. The growth in the number of religiously unaffiliated Americans – sometimes called the rise of the “nones” –is largely driven by generational replacement, the gradual supplanting of older generations by newer ones.

These findings invite two questions:

What is it that the institutions of religion are not providing a growing number of people? And if this younger generation remains unaffiliated as it ages, what’s the future of religion?

If we equate some form of regular church attendance as an indication of real affiliation (as opposed to a statement of a personal, more privatized religion), then these numbers of association were always high. What may be changing is that even a tepid association with the church or religion is now moving into a declaration of complete non-affiliation, a slight move over on the spectrum of options that may not actually represent a very significant change from the mostly privatized religion of before. I do think churches are not offering the kind of community people connect with and institutions in general are meeting with more skepticism, but then culture is moving in a more privitized direction in many ways as well. Just think about how few people know their neighbors in their neighborhoods.

The reasons people give tell you they are looking for things other than those they associate with churches or synagogues or mosques and what they tie to the spirituality of religion. So if I want politics, I do not need a church, just join a political party. If I want money or power, then pursue a career and success.

As to the future, if the real move is as slight as I have indicated, the change may not be that great. It does mean that we may be moving culturally in a direction that will make us more like Europe or Australia in its cultural feel, where religion becomes even more marginalized, at least in some locations in the USA. Many places in the USA are already there, but other locales are still quite religious. So I suspect the question is more complex than a generalized remark about where the USA is. It also would be interesting to see how regional these numbers are. How different is the South than the West, Northeast or Northwest? I suspect what we would see is that American culture is actually made of of several cultures with different levels in different parts of the country, with significant differences in the feel of the culture from one part of the country to another.

One final point, I remember in the early 60′s when predictions were that religion was dying and God was dead. That ignores how potent religion is in most parts of the world and might miss the fact that sometimes the pendulum swings back as it did with many coming to faith in the 60′s-70′s at a time when others were prematurely declaring the demise of God.

The findings answered the question. “Religious organizations are too concerned with money and power, too focused on rules and too involved in politics.” Our buildings get bigger and more elaborate requiring huge financial outlays. That requirement enhances the power of those able to contribute to the building boom. Religious organizations push for one political party over another based on one or two issues even when the remaining issues that are central to the social and ethical heart an kernel of the faith of those religious organizations are ignored by those parties; the hypocrisy is rampant.

You can add to that the educational level and rational thinking of western society. (The same trend is happening in Europe.) As long as organized, mainstream denominations insist on the inerrancy of their scriptures as having been written in heaven and insist on a superficial and shallow understanding of the written word of their scripture, while at the same time the educated young of our societies are taught to think in rational terms, and can read the contradictions and inconsistencies of what is obvious to them as being a human document, then religious organizations will continue to lose members.

JOE CLIFFORD, Head of Staff and Senior Minister, First Presbyterian Church of Dallas

It’s been said a church’s faithfulness can be determined by asking the question: other than your members who would miss your congregation if it did not exist? Perhaps the same question could be posed of religious institutions. Whatever would be missed points to what we should be providing more of in the world. For too long, the institutional church has existed for its own sake. Our mission has focused on self perpetuation. The children of baby boomers are not interested in perpetuating the institutions their parents rebelled against.

What’s missing is a compelling vision that inspires people to want to be part of something bigger than themselves, bigger than the religious institution that proclaims this vision. My faith teaches God has a vision for this world—a new creation. It is a world where people live in peace with one another, where poverty is banished, and war is no more. It is a world where the sick are healed, and the lame walk, and the poor have good news brought to them. When the church lives into this vision, we offer a compelling reason for being.

As to the future of religion, according to Revelation 21, in the new creation there is no temple. Once the vision becomes reality the institution called to embody the dream is no longer needed. Given the chasm that exists between God’s vision for our tomorrows and the realities of today, the church has at least some short term job security!

WILLIAM LAWRENCE, Dean and Professor of American Church History, Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University

Embedded within the data reported by the Pew Research Center are some things that were captured by headline writers and some things that were overlooked by many. What the headlines announced was that fewer than half of all Americans describe themselves as Protestant and that 20% of Americans check “none” on the surveys that ask about religious affiliation—a percentage that is even larger among younger adults.

Within the details of the report were indications of dramatic shifts within the last two decades. And a significant part of that shift has occurred since religious institutions have increasingly identified themselves with a particular political point of view. The alliance between so-called “evangelicals” and self-identified “political conservatives” is actually proving to be a detriment to religious affiliation, according to the Pew report.

What religious institutions are not providing is a sense of welcome and hospitality to a diverse array of persons. Most congregations of Protestants are homogeneous in ethnicity, economic status, and political perspective. To those who may be seeking a setting to explore spiritual questions, most Protestant churches are simply not hospitable. In fact, most are structured in a way that says “Come, for we have the answers!” instead of “Come and let us ponder your questions!”

Increasingly, faith communities are drifting toward the point where they will have to begin discovering what it means to function as a minority. There are places in the world where Christians know how to do that. But it will be unfamiliar territory for North American followers of Jesus.

MIKE GHOUSE, President, Foundation for Pluralism

Historically religious institutions had a monopoly in offering a sense of community, and a sense of unity that made families feel safe and at home. Indeed they were sanctuaries of peace, an affordable singular communal source of entertainment to a majority of families.

Do people feel the same going to a place of worship now? I am afraid not, its value as a place of solace is declining for a variety of reasons, and this is happening across the religious spectrum whether it is a church, mosque, synagogue or a temple.

As humans we are driven to where there is harmony and conflictlessness, and the religious institutions are failing to fulfill the very basic need that brought families to these institutions in the first place.

The Younger generation interacts with people of different faiths, cultures, races and ethnicities with least to no prejudice, and they reject the notion of a God, that showers his grace on a selected few and not their good friends at work or at school. The exclusive claim from the pulpit does not appeal to the young generation anymore, they may put up with it, but deep down, gradual distancing is set in motion.

Scammers like Robert Tilton, Jim Baker and a host of others, and sex abuse scandals are not helping keep the congregations either.

In a 2011Pew survey, 72% of Americans did not believe theirs is the only way to God, compared to 96% in a 1972 survey. The demographics have changed now, and it is hard to fathom their preacher’s claims of exclusivity.

The latest research from Barna Associates shows that only 32 percent of adults see hell as, “an actual place of torment and suffering where people’s souls go after death.” People have enough of it in their own lives to go listen to another one.

Future of religious institutions depend on the needs of the congregants, those places of worship that offer hope and solace with least conflicts will continue to attract membership like Joel Osteen, the non-denominational, spiritual, and meditation centers. Institutions where sermons focus on making enemies out of others to give a false sense of good feeling will wane. Deep down people want to feel good about themselves, and sermons of harmony and pluralism will give hope and will save the institutions.

I returned recently from leading a study tour of Italy. We found magnificent cathedrals that are little more than museums today. One experience was especially poignant: a small group was conducting Mass at the front of the cathedral while tourists walked around admiring the art and ignoring the One it was intended to honor.

Is this America’s future?

The number of young adults who affiliate with religion is at an all-time low. While only nine percent of people 65 and older claim no religion, one-third of adults under 30 have no religious affiliation. Researchers don’t expect them to become more religious as they age, indicating that religious commitment in our nation will continue to decline in the years ahead.

This precipitous fall in church attendance among young people coincides with an unprecedented emphasis on “user-friendly” churches, contemporary music, and market-driven growth strategies. We have more media-savvy ministers and churches than ever, but we’re reaching fewer media-savvy Americans than ever.

A deeper problem is at work here. For reasons that would take much longer than this blog post to explain, our culture has bought the lie that truth is subjective and ethics are relative. Today there’s “your truth” and “my truth.” It’s conventional wisdom that you can be spiritual but not religious, that denominational creeds and traditions are outdated and irrelevant. The vast majority of Americans still say they believe in God, but for many, God is whatever they believe in.

To paraphrase Voltaire, God made us in his image, then we returned the favor.

LARRY BETHUNE, Senior Pastor, University Baptist Church, Austin

I have a great education and years of experience pastoring my parents’ church; my children’s church is uncharted territory. Many heads are studying what’s happening to the church and what the next church needs to be. No clear answer and no consensus have emerged. No one knows the answer to this question because there is no single answer.

Religious institutions are facing a perfect storm of cultural challenges: postmodern reduction of authority to personal opinion; electronic forms of community young people experience as genuinely as face-to-face community; general disillusionment with all institutions; increasing narcissism and materialism fueled by a culture that pushes people to define themselves primarily as consumers; a generational preference to reject their parents’ values and build their own new thing; a vocal, reasoned debate against theism in any form which becomes anexcuse for abandoning faith communities even for those who don’t understand the debate; a political climate that has discarded such ideas as “the common good,” “social policy,” and responsibility for the marginalized. Add to the list the egregious errors of religious institutions (violence, scandal, culture wars, hate speech, attempts at social control, theologies that emphasize personal spirituality over community relationship, and emphasis on the preservation of the institution over the fulfillment of its mission) and the institutions of religion have little to offer that appears life giving to a new generation.

Faithful membership in religious institutions is no longer part of the social norm, and is becoming a social negative. Consequently, the religious institutions of the new generation will be smaller and less dominant, focused on the spiritual rather than the political, voluntary and non-coercive, and missional rather than institutional in focus. They will be less interested in Bible studies and worship than in service and practical action. This institutional sea change will be painful to my generation and our parents; it will be life giving to our children and grandchildren.

Sometimes an image changes everything. The early NASA views of Earth from the Moon, the first times we were able to see the planet as a whole, a fragile blue sphere in a sea of infinite space, sparked both an environmental movement and a sense of global citizenry—anathema to national and religious separatism.

For this current sea change in religion it is the Hubble Deep Field Photograph. It looks like a typical starry sky, but the thousands of light points are not stars, but galaxies and star clusters, no doubt home to other conscious life. The Nones ask: Where do our Earth-based religious narratives fit in all that?

We are in a period of universalizing, where the truths we have here must be compatible with the cosmos out there. The spiritual-not-religious movement is far more than people turning away from quarreling, politics-infested religions that vie for the sole possession of truth. This movement instead seeks a faith that can take us into the 21st century and beyond to the furthest galaxy.

The future of religion is like the future of anything else: change. The current religious arrangement cannot be seen as the apex of spiritual thought, the cap of some kind of spiritual ascendency that must be maintained. The Nones reject that entirely. Instead they see human and spiritual development as a continually unfolding process.

The spiritually unaffiliated ask us to let go of religious ego and the need to possess and control, to release literalism and the need defend. Because all that is local and transitory against cosmic time. Instead, they ask us to dig deeper and reveal the truth of all these faiths, to uncover the core that is universal.

Ultimately, Nones are comfortable with ambiguity and humble enough to accept that they will never have all the answers, seeing any religion as the penultimate solution to the mystery of our existence. By bringing to the fore our highest common denominators, it will be the Nones that lead us to world peace, and nothing is more optimistic for the future of religion than that.

DANIEL KANTER, Senior Minister, First Unitarian Church of Dallas

The answer depends on how people define ‘religion’ and ‘god’ and other theological terms. Many of these ‘nones’ are defining themselves against the traditional and formal conceptions they learned or hear about. But they are also finding new expressions of faith in evolving traditions such as mine. In our church they find an emphasis on what living spiritually is without dogma. They find meaning making that fits the kind of exploration of the spirit they are seeking. They find definitions of ‘god’ that are more open and embracing of many aspects of life rather than paternal figures painted on ceilings. They find salvation in making this life the focus rather than an afterlife. And they find a community of people committed to making a difference in the world and being of service to those who need a hand. Over and against a traditional paradigm our faith might seem unorthodox, and it is! And all the same we have five hundred years of tradition behind us but rather than it anchoring us down it is urging us forward.

Doubt is being taught in growing numbers. Doubt is a sign of intelligence. But blind doubt, such as rejecting spirituality without an extensive investigation, is a sign of ignorance, as is blind faith. Due to the blind doubt in the minds of populace, people are not apt to accept religious institutions. This is because most religious institutions present a doubtful presentation of God. A God who is far from perfect in His own personality and character. A character that is presented as envious, a being who causes meaningless eternal suffering. For if hell is eternal there is no meaning to it, for there is no point of correction.

Vague conceptions of the soul where some living things have a soul and for some reason other living things do not. All to be blindly accepted.
The second cause is that this is the instant gratification fast-food culture, without wisdom for long term gains. So religion is only seen as to possibly have some long term gain and therefore it is seen to be of little value.
What are the institutions not providing? Well first of all, philosophically weak religious theologies. People generally go to a university to study philosophy rather than a religious institution. Because they do not expect to find sound logic and philosophy there, but rather just blind faith.

Faith should be supported by reason and experience.
The second item that is lacking is transcendental experiences. Because people are not experiencing the happiness of spiritual life they are unsure about its relevance to their daily life. If the priests who are teaching still rely on cigarettes, alcohol, wealth, adoration, fame, and so on, to satisfy their starving hearts, how then will they be able to feed the hungry souls of their congregation. Therefore in as much as he is hungry for the temporary we can understand how much he is really tasting of the sweetness of the eternal.

Protestant churches identified with particular denominations have been declining in numbers for several years. Even in the seminary context where I teach, where one might expect such affiliations to be the norm, we are seeing an increasing number of students who self-identify as “nondenominational” or “unaffiliated.” Interestingly, those who take on these labels oven affiliate so strongly with being nondenominational or unaffiliated that these identifications become themselves strong affiliations. Certainly, those who identify as “unaffiliated” do not necessarily identify as not-religious. Christianity is alive and (pretty) well in the US, even if there are questions about the health of Presbyterianism, Methodism, etc.

Why are denominational churches declining in number? There are lots of reasons for this. I’ll name three: (1) Because they are not doing a good enough job of making a passionate and persuasive case for the value and ongoing relevance of traditions; (2) Because Americans are lazy, anyway, about pursuing histories and legacies. We assume, to our detriment, that something new is always better than what has always been; and (3) Because we are at a point, in history, where it is time to re-vamp what we mean by “religion” and to what degree and how religious institutions contribute to the promotion of its life.

The last of these is, from my point of view, hope-full and exciting. Back in the 16th century, the great church Reformer John Calvin argued that it is time to return to “True Religion.” What the unaffiliated and the affiliated religious folks should have in common is a passion for figuring out what “true religion” is, and how to promote it in ways that are life-giving. We need to be having mor conversations together, acknowledging this shared and crucial task.

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The Texas Faith blog is a discussion among formal and informal religious leaders whose faith traditions express a belief in a transcendent power – or the possibility of one. While all readers are invited to participate in this blog, by responding in the comments section, discussion leaders are those whose religion involves belief in a divine higher power or those who may not believe in a transcendent power but leave room for the possibility of one. Within this framework, moderators William McKenzie and Wayne Slater seek to bring a diversity of thinkers onto the Texas Faith panels.